Perseus watched a small duiker that was all by itself. She was hungry and that duiker was without a herd to protect it. It seemed to the leopon that this was something that could be to her advantage. It most definitely should be to her benefit that the creature did not have a herd to help it defend itself. She was not sure if it was lost or it had just been chased out of its old herd, but whatever the reason, the leopon thought this duiker looked like lunch. Lunch, dinner, in between snack, they were all good uses of the graceful hooved critter if the leopon caught it.
Catching it would be the trick, though, as Perseus could not risk losing such a good chance at a meal if she could help it. She stayed crouched in the long grass as she watched the creature. It was at the watering hole, getting a drink. Its ears were swiveling this way and that as it scanned for predators, and yet it had one within a few yards of it. Apparently the female leopon was down wind of it because it had not caught a whiff of her as of yet, and that was not for lack of trying. The leopon had to give the prey credit for being cautious and trying to sniff out, hear, or see anything that might sneak up on it while it was getting its drink.
Thankfully, it did not seem to be enough in this case. Perseus waited until it looked down again to move closer to its position. She was trying to get as close as she possibly could before striking at the animal. It had hooves and horns that she wanted to avoid if at all possible and not giving it warning of the attack or time to react would help with this goal. There was also the matter of the thing being much faster than the leopon at a dead run. The leopon was not made for speed as much as raw strength, and she certainly did not want to spend time and energy trying to run down something that she most likely would not be able to catch.
It would be very tiring, extremely frustrating, and all around useless if such a thing were to happen to Perseus. She took another step or two closer to the duiker as it turned away again. The leopon had to say that she was doing rather well in this hunt so far. She had not been spotted, she was keeping her patience, and she had managed to get upwind of the thing she wished to eat. Nearly half or more of the time, the bright leopon was not so lucky, and she ended up having a perfect meal get away from her before she even really had a chance at catching it.
Perseus moved forward again, pausing with her paw still raised as the duiker looked her way as if it had heard something. The leopon did not want to move while the thing was looking in her direction. Doing such a thing as moving would likely catch its eye and bring its attention to her hiding spot. That would mean one of two things, standing very, very still while the thing kept looking her way, hoping that it would turn away again, or it running off before she could get a good start after it. It was best to just stand still with her paw in the air right now than have to work twice as hard later for moving.
Perseus was rewarded for her imitation of a statue. The prey looked away again and dipped its head to drink. The leopon continued her move forward and got herself a good bit closer. She was almost to the edge of the long grass now. The leopon would have to make her move soon so that she did not creep out into the open and scare the thing off. From the edge of the long grass to the watering hole was only a yard or so, which meant she was going to be within touching distance of the duiker soon.
Perseus took that last step that would still allow her cover while getting her as close to her prey as she possibly could get. It was now time for the leopon to think about how she was going to strike. She was not going to have a lot of time once she broke cover, and her attack would have to be a good one in order to keep her prey from escaping, doing damage to her, or both. She did not want to ruin this opportunity when she was so close to getting the prize. Hooves and horns were both still something to be taken into consideration, but at least they were pointed away from the leopon for the moment.
Perseus thought for a few moments as she continued to watch the duiker. She had a rather good angle to hit the side of the creature’s rump. It sure was taking its time at the watering hole and this was to the female’s advantage, since it gave her the time she needed to sneak up on it and think things over. Her best option really did appear to be the attack on the rump. If she hit it hard, she could knock the duiker off its feet, and if she was fast enough she could get herself out of the way of the hooves and pin the neck before it could do damage to her. All it would take at that point was getting a good slash or bite to make it bleed out.
Perseus, having made her decision on how she was going to attack, sprung from her hiding spot toward the duiker. The creature must have heard her movement, because it started to bring its head around her way again. Unfortunately for it, this time there was a leopon headed claws first for its rump, and not just a leopon hiding in the grass creeping closer. The leopon took her prey down without much problem. Her leap sent her into its back side and knocked it to the ground. She managed to pull her legs up away from the kicking hooves that were failing about to try and get traction or kick her off it. It would have been happy with either outcome at this point.
Having downed her prey and avoided being hooved or horned, Perseus made short work of ending the duiker’s misery, and she took a few moments to be smug over what she had accomplished. She would get at least two meals out of this kill, and that would mean she could travel longer without stopping later. She had needed a rest for her paws anyway, and now she had a good excuse for one. The leopon tore into her meal with an overpowering sense of smugness, while she kept an eye out for anything that might try to take her prize from her. She had worked hard for it, and she did not want to lose it.
